Enviva Welcomes Future Growth in Alabama with a Revised Permit from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management

March 30, 2023 at 07:00 AM EDT

Enviva Inc. (NYSE: EVA), the world’s leading producer of sustainably sourced woody biomass, received on March 21, 2023 its construction permit from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for its Epes plant under construction in Sumter County, AL. The revised permit enables Enviva to build a state-of-the-art sustainable biomass production facility at a brownfield site in Epes, AL, bringing jobs, infrastructure, and economic development to the region, while deepening Sumter County’s ties to the global economy.

In 2020, Enviva acquired over 300 acres of land on the coast of the Tombigbee River in Sumter County for its forthcoming Epes plant. The Enviva Epes site location resides on the former manufacturing site of a wood products company that had closed in recent years, resulting in job loss and depressed economic activity in the region.

“Enviva is excited to repurpose a former business site and construct a brand-new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, jumpstarting economic growth and bringing employment opportunities back to the community,” said Thomas Meth, President and CEO of Enviva. “Enviva’s decision to locate a plant at the Port of Epes is expected to trigger a rebirth of economic activity in the Epes community. We hope that our decision to locate in Sumter County prompts others to do the same and we look forward to the day we get to officially call Sumter County home.”

Enviva has been active in Sumter County since its initial assessment of the site in 2018. Since then, Enviva has partnered with local government, first responders, and the faith-based community to help fulfill unmet needs and provide empowering programming for families. Once operational, Enviva’s Epes plant will be one of the largest taxpayers in the county, resulting in economic benefits to the community with funding for programs like road maintenance, schools, as well as safety, and emergency services.

“I am extremely thrilled and appreciative that this permit has been issued to Enviva,” said Marcus Campbell, Chairperson of the Sumter County Commissioners. “We are proud of the partnership and the opportunities that will come to Sumter County as a result of this magnificent collaboration. This is just another step in ensuring the economic revitalization of Sumter County will foster opportunities for citizens to live, work, play, and prosper.”

Enviva started preliminary construction of its fully contracted Epes plant in July 2022. The plant is expected to have a nameplate capacity of 1.1 million metric tons per year and is expected to be in service in 2024 and fully ramped in 2025. Once operational, the Epes plant is expected to support approximately 350 direct and indirect jobs, including in adjacent industries such as logging and trucking.

About Enviva

Enviva Inc. (NYSE: EVA) is the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets, a renewable and sustainable energy source produced by aggregating a natural resource, wood fiber, and processing it into a transportable form, wood pellets. Enviva owns and operates ten plants with a combined production capacity of approximately 6.2 million metric tons per year in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi, and is constructing its 11^th plant in Epes, Alabama. Additionally, Enviva is planning to commence construction of its 12^th plant near Bond, Mississippi. Enviva sells most of its wood pellets through long-term, take-or-pay off-take contracts with primarily creditworthy customers in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Japan, helping to accelerate the energy transition and to defossilize hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, lime, chemicals, and aviation. Enviva exports its wood pellets to global markets through its deep-water marine terminals at the Port of Chesapeake, Virginia, the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, and the Port of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and from third-party deep-water marine terminals in Savannah, Georgia, Mobile, Alabama, and Panama City, Florida.

To learn more about Enviva, please visit our website at www.envivabiomass.com. Follow Enviva on social media @Enviva.